recently I have been in a monumental battle. over very little things. but Scripture tells us that it’s the little foxes that ruin the vines. why? because the big foxes can reach the grapes, and so simply eat the grapes. the little foxes cannot reach the grapes, so they chew down the vines to bring the grapes to them. Scripture also tells us the a little rudder steers a huge vessel, and a slight misdirection can send that vessel to the wrong side of the planet.
so it is with tripwires and clotheslines.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A tripwire is a passive triggering mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to some device for detecting or reacting to physical movement. From this basic meaning, several extended and metaphorical uses of the term have developed.
Metaphorical usage
The Berlin Brigade stationed in the divided city of Berlin during the Cold War was given the mission to be the "tripwire" for a Soviet incursion into West Germany.
Literal usage
Military usage may designate as a tripwire the wire attached to one or more mines — normally bounding mines and the fragmentation type — in order to increase their activation area. Alternatively, tripwires are frequently used in boobytraps, whereby a tug on the wire (or release of tension on it) will detonate the explosives.
Soldiers sometimes detect the presence of tripwires by spraying the area with Silly String. It will settle to the ground in areas where there are no wires; if there are any, the string will be suspended in the air but not set them off due to its light weight. It is being used by U.S. troops in Iraq for this purpose.
tripwires in life can be anything that sets off a mental mine, an image inside of loss, failure, or insufficiency. maybe something you read, or see, or hear. God tells us in His word to be conformed to His image, and that looking into the perfect law of liberty is like looking into a mirror with Jesus reflection in it. you do that enough times, and go away with that image in your mind, and pretty soon you begin to believe that is what you look like. tripwires set off those inner images from past failures and upsets that, when you hit them, trigger a kneejerk reaction in your own mind designed to throw you completely off the path to victory.
Urban Dictionary
clothesline
a pro wrestling move in which a wrestler puts his arm straight out to the side and knocks his opponent over, either from his own momentum or his opponents'
Hulk Hogan gave a wicked clothesline to the Macho man.
clotheslines in life can hit you unexpectedly from anywhere. they come in the form of people, saying or doing something that hurts, offends, angers. it’s like getting the wind knocked out of you. God says in His word that perfect love casts out fear. that He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. that love covers a multitude of sins.
it seems hard sometimes to remember that walking in the Spirit puts us on the path to overcoming, and that keeping the Word of God before us and meditating on it day and night is what makes us prosper and have good success in everything we set our hand to. but once we have tasted the goodness that God has for us, and that walking with Him is, it gets easier to remember. in fact it gets to be the thing we chase after, and desire above all.
we live in a fallen world. it’s a warzone, with a crafty enemy that sets traps and mines everywhere, using whatever resources he can. he can’t overcome us himself, as he has been stripped of his authority, paralyzed of his power, and ruined in all his works, by the blood of Jesus. but he will make use of anything he can manipulate, whether it’s something in our own mind that isn’t renewed to the image of Christ, or someone that doesn’t know God or maybe does but doesn’t realize he’s being used. either way, we have been given the armour, the weapons, and the inner image of Christ to completely overcome every thing the devil sets in our path to stop us.
we can remember that once we are born again, we are not of this world.
Very intellectual posting once again my friend. You know one thing I hate the worst is when you trigger a tripwire and you have that moment of sheer terror when you know it's too late to turn back the clock...you've trigger whatever the wire is attached to. You've well said that once we are born again we are not as those that have no hope or God in this world. We may trigger things in the mine field of life however we are equipped with grace and the unmeasurable love of God for us to handle whatever comes our way. Grace and God's love to you my friend.
ReplyDeleteOnce again- we seem to be on the same wavelength. I also have been experiencing some similar problems. I started back at college in February and this is very relevant to me. The following is in a book I picked up I thought by chance and didn't realize that God was speaking to me through it. I just recognized his voice. ; )
ReplyDeletefr I am Half-Sick of Shadows p 106
Brown wire to the live,
Blue to the neutral
Greenery-yallery to the propensity
So's you don't wake up in eternity
God's timing is what we need and we have to toss away our little sanctuaries which can 'trip us up' and forge paths unfamiliar. We never know what God has for us until we do and we also avoid the snares the devil set for us to fall in. I remember Solomon's song from my childhood. "He who sets a trap will fall in it." ; )